Save Water, Officials Urge Ne Part Of County Asked To Reduce Use By 15%

February 10, 1989|By JOHN MULLIKEN, Staff Writer

South Florida`s water woes continue to spread, water managers said on Thursday.

The South Florida Water Management District slapped a water shortage warning on northeast Palm Beach County and all of Martin County.

The agency also put tougher restrictions on Marco Island and increased pressure on other southwestern governments to beef up enforcement of mandatory cutback rules.

The warning issued in northeast Palm Beach and Martin counties calls for a voluntary 15 percent reduction of water consumption. Marco Island joined Bonita Springs and North Naples under a mandate to cut water use by 30 percent.

Bonita Springs, under a district order to achieve a 30 percent reduction, actually has seen a continued rise in its water use, and will face renewed pressure from the water agency to cut its water consumption, officials said.

Tilford Creel, the district`s deputy executive director, said the voluntary cutbacks requested of residents in northeast Palm Beach County and in Martin County will be made mandatory if the utilities do not achieve the 15 percent level.

He also said district experts are keeping a close eye on the rest of Palm Beach, plus Broward and Dade counties, where water problems are expected by March if the dry spell continues.

From September through January, southeast Florida has received an average of 9 inches of rain, less than half of the normal precipitation expected for the five-month period.

A cold front on Thursday produced cloudy skies and widely scattered showers, but no significant rainfall, officials said.

The Palm Beach County area under the water shortage warning is east of Florida`s Turnpike and north of Donald Ross Road. That area cannot receive water recharge from Lake Okeechobee or the Everglades.